The Honest Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNST) Given Average Rating of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a “Hold” consensus on The Honest Company, with two sell, four hold, and two buy ratings. The average 12-month price target is approximately $3.47.
• Honest’s latest quarterly results met expectations, with earnings of $0.01 per share and revenue of $78.1 million, ahead of the $76.25 million estimate. Analysts expect full-year earnings of about $0.10 per share.
• Insiders sold 175,058 shares worth approximately $550,591 over the past 90 days, while institutional investors own 45.54% of the company. The stock recently opened at $3.65, down 1.9%.

Shares of The Honest Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNST - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Hold" by the eight ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $3.4667.

A number of brokerages have commented on HNST. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Honest from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Alliance Global Partners restated a "buy" rating on shares of Honest in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley set a $3.40 target price on Honest in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a "market perform" rating and set a $4.00 target price on shares of Honest in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Honest in a report on Tuesday, May 26th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Curtiss James Bruce III sold 12,669 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.14, for a total value of $39,780.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 526,157 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,652,132.98. This represents a 2.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, General Counsel Brendan Sheehey sold 9,784 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.14, for a total transaction of $30,721.76. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 715,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,247,888.32. The trade was a 1.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 175,058 shares of company stock worth $550,591 over the last ninety days. 9.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Honest

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HNST. UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in Honest by 77.3% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,014,939 shares of the company's stock worth $2,619,000 after buying an additional 442,542 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in Honest by 122.3% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 36,461 shares of the company's stock valued at $94,000 after acquiring an additional 20,059 shares during the period. Echo Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Honest by 28.9% during the fourth quarter. Echo Wealth Management LLC now owns 178,761 shares of the company's stock valued at $461,000 after acquiring an additional 40,056 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Honest in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Amicus Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Honest in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. 45.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Honest Stock Down 1.9%

Honest stock opened at $3.65 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $3.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3.12. The company has a market cap of $401.79 million, a P/E ratio of -21.47 and a beta of 2.11. Honest has a 52-week low of $2.07 and a 52-week high of $4.79.

Honest (NASDAQ:HNST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.01. The firm had revenue of $78.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $76.25 million. Honest had a negative net margin of 5.39% and a positive return on equity of 3.52%. Research analysts anticipate that Honest will post 0.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Honest

The Honest Company, Inc NASDAQ: HNST is an American consumer goods firm specializing in eco-friendly and responsibly formulated products for babies, personal care, beauty and home cleaning. The company emphasizes transparency in ingredient sourcing and product safety, positioning itself in the premium segment of mass-market retail and direct-to-consumer channels.

Honest was founded in 2011 by actress Jessica Alba and environmental health advocate Christopher Gavigan with a mission to offer parents household and baby care items free from harsh chemicals and synthetic fragrances.

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